In the current digital age where everyone has a computer and is regularly connected to the internet, viruses, hackers, spam and online fraud have become significant problems – both in the UK and internationally. The amount of spam emails, phishing sites and destructive viruses has increased exponentially in the last decade, making online threats a major issue for both individuals and businesses alike.

One such threat is the botnet – a network of infected computers that can be remotely controlled by cyber criminals. An infected machine could include a PC, Mac or even a smartphone, and as infected terminals behave completely normally, most people wouldn’t even realise their computer or phone was part of a botnet. Botnets can be used to send out spam email messages, attack computers and servers, spread viruses or commit banking / financial fraud, and they have become a very prominent issue in our increasingly globalised world.

So to give you a quick introduction to botnets – including information on how to protect your computer – we’ve produced the following infographic: